MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Political and health sector leaders in this south-central town are imploring motorists to adjust to the new traffic management system here, even as some have raised concerns about accessing the Mandeville Regional Hospital.

“People quarrelling about the hospital being on a one-way, KPH [Kingston Public Hospital] is on a one-way. Persons just want to get to where they want to without looking at what other effect it has on other persons. Any country you go to in the world, going into the centre of the town you will have some traffic delays,” mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell said on Thursday.

At the same time, chief executive officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital Alwyn Miller explained the change of routes for emergency vehicles accessing the hospital.

“As it relates to our ambulances approaching Mandeville, if they are coming from St Elizabeth, Clarendon or Percy Junor [Hospital] they will go all the way up the highway [Winston Jones] to Ward Avenue, make that left turn, come to the end of Ward Avenue, turn left at Bank of Nova Scotia and onto Caledonia Road to the hospital,” he told journalists on Thursday.

As part of the near $75-million Greater Mandeville Traffic Management System, Caledonia Road now functions on a one-way system from the direction of Scotiabank to the New Green Road intersection since Sunday.

The section of Manchester Road — between Scotiabank and Sinclair’s Bargain Centre — has also been converted into a one-way stretch.

Other changes in the Mandeville Traffic Management Improvement Plan is the opening of the median along Main Street to allow traffic from North Race Course Road and at Villa Road.

Miller also explained that changes have been made to access services at medical centres in Mandeville.

“Leaving the hospital to go to the diagnostic centres, one is across the road, which makes it easy. For the other, they [ambulances] will turn right on Caledonia Road, up Brumalia Road and come around to Ward Avenue and Caledonia Road. We don’t have a challenge in terms of the movement of our ambulances,” said Miller.

“The challenge may be in terms of the general public coming into Mandeville [for the hospital] and following the usual route that they are accustomed to and being struck in the traffic on Main Street,” Miller added.

Mitchell, during his address at the local municipality Thursday, said other phases are needed for the traffic system in and around Mandeville.

“We have never intended to solve the traffic problem in Mandeville, it is to regulate the traffic in Mandeville and in regulating you cannot have one phase of the entire thing that we have looked at to solve or to regulate the entire problem,” he said.

“Because there is still the Grove Road Manchester Road [intersection] to be solved. I think we also have to look at the deCarteret and Villa Road situation with vehicles coming from there and most importantly, the matter at deCarteret College and the Belair School that must be solved before we can have easier flowing of the traffic,” added Mitchell.

He said the traffic system is important to urban planning and reiterated that discussions are ongoing with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to expand the commercial zone of Mandeville.

“This is urban planning, it is a part of a plan that we have looked at, because all the essential services in Mandeville are concentrated in one area. Businesses are concentrated in one area. When NEPA came the last time and we were looking at expanding the town, those are the things we were looking at and they will be coming back again to see how the traffic change will affect what it is that we have planned to do. I am asking everyone to bear with us as we look to spread the town out and look at urban planning,” said Mitchell.

He told councillors to desist from criticising the traffic management system.

“I have seen councillors making comments about what is happening, but you can’t be a part of a situation and make bad comments because for years we have been saying we have to have the traffic light system in the town of Mandeville for it to work,” said Mitchell.